For the second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting in a row, Barrow-Upon-Humber racer Martyn Bell was out of luck at Thruxton after contact with a rival saw him lose any chance of opening his account for the season.

The Team AllAboutProperty.com driver headed to the fastest circuit on the calendar looking for an improvement in luck after he was caught in the middle of someone elses accident during the second race at Rockingham, but he would once again be thwarted in his attempt to secure a top ten finish with his BMW 320i.

After qualifying in 18th place, Martyn made a fine start to move up the order in race one, but as the race progressed he started to struggle with the handling of the car and would eventually cross the line in 13th place after holding off the challenge of Lincolnshire lass Fiona Leggate over the final laps.

With changes made to the car, Martyn was hopeful of a good result in race two but his chances of finishing inside the top ten came to an abrupt end when he was hit by the Alfa Romeo of Richard Marsh going into the complex on lap six. Although Martyn was able to continue, damage to the car meant he was called into the pits to retire.

With the car repaired, Martyn started the final race from 16th on the grid, but with the handling of the BMW not to his liking he was only able to take 15th at the finish.

“We were suffering with oversteer through the complex in the opening race and the car was a real handful,” Martyn reflected. “I had to settle for 13th which was a good place to start the second race and I made up some positions again at the start before Richard Marsh tried to make the BMW a compact going into the complex.

“The car was wrecked at the back and it’s quite annoying as it’s the second time it’s happened to me – he did the same last season at Knockhill. The boys got me out there for the last race and got the car as straight as it could be, but understeer was a problem and I also made a silly mistake out the back of the circuit and got on the grass – meaning I dropped off the back of the pack. You can’t get back onto the train again when that happens and I was praying for a Safety Car to help me catch up, but it never appeared.”

However, Martyn and the team remain upbeat going into a small break before the fourth round of the season at Croft next month, when he hopes for luck to finally be on his side.

“The end result doesn’t reflect our efforts and our best lap in the second race was only 0.2secs off Tom Onslow-Cole [in a newer-spec BMW 320si],” Martyn added. “It’s a tribute to the team to be able to do that.

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“We know that we have made progress this season with the car and we know that that progress isn’t reflected by the championship standings. We aren’t feeling down, we are just getting our bad luck out of the way in one go!”

Thruxton also saw Martyn’s driver coach Kelvin Burt in action in the Porsche Carrera Cup, but his race weekend came to a dramatic end in a high-speed accident that saw him barrel-roll over the barriers and safety fencing to the outside of the circuit.

Luckily, Kelvin escaped serious injury in the accident, although he was understandably sore after being checked over in the medical centre and then taken to hospital as a precaution.

“It was a worrying moment when we heard about the accident and it is a relief to know that Kelvin is ok,” Martyn added. “I’ve spoken to him and he says he is a bit sore, but hopefully he’ll soon be feeling 100 per cent. The whole team wishes him well and can’t wait to have him back.”